The field of the invention is spray nozzles for aerosol cans such as paint cans. The invention more particularly relates to readily cleanable nozzles.
Aerosol cans are widely used to spray a wide variety of substances such as paint, lacquer, whipped cream, and other materials which tend to dry, harden or deteriorate after spraying. Spray nozzles, if not properly cleaned, become either partially or completely clogged and cause the spray to become uneven or completely stopped. If the substance sprayed can be attacked by bacteria, the nozzle can become a location where spoilage can take place which can lead to clogging or an undesirable odor. While it is common practice to invert some types of aerosol cans such as spray paint cans in order to discharge the paint from the feed tube and from the nozzle, such procedure is not completely effective to prevent clogging. Other types of cans such as whipped cream cans are not readily cleaned in this manner. Furthermore, cleaning by inversion and expelling results in a certain amount of paint residue left in the nozzle and an improved and simplified cleaning method is needed. While most nozzles can be unplugged from the spray can and immersed in solvent, such procedures are cumbersome and the replacement of the nozzle on the can often results in the spraying of additional amounts of paint which again clog the nozzle.